Jesus as Brother
This article is part of a series here at More Than Sundays about the identities of Christ. If you struggle with understanding who Jesus is and why He is important, we pray that these articles will help you gain that understanding and come to know Christ more fully. Please enjoy!
The more that we understand about someone, the easier it is to relate to them and therefore form and maintain a relationship with them. This is a statement that holds true throughout our lives in every relationship that we will ever have. It is almost impossible to have a relationship that holds any substance if there is not a deep, mutual understanding that is held by both parties involved. This statement does not hold any less true when we consider it in the context of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Now the relationship that we have with Christ might be more complex and have more intricate than other worldly relationships in our lives. This should be the standard for the relationship that we have with Jesus Christ, this relationship can and should hold a higher level of importance, hold a deeper place in our hearts, and be more impactful than the other relationships in our lives. Still, the fact that our relationship with Jesus requires a deep understanding and constant connection should help this relationship to be elevated and hold a higher level of importance.
Even with this knowledge that we must understand Jesus on a deeper level than anyone else in our lives, He is often the person that we fail to completely understand. Often we understand Jesus as a Messiah – that is an aspect of Jesus clearly described in Scripture. We also have an abundance of knowledge and usually a good understanding of Jesus as our savior. These are two aspects of Jesus that we as Christians tend to be intimately familiar with. It is easy to grasp that Jesus was sent for us and then died on the cross for our sins; this is a cornerstone of Christian faith. In fact, this aspect of Christ is so well known that even those who are not Christians and those from other faiths have at least an understanding that Christ lived and died for His followers. The understanding of this is, of course, not as deep or meaningful as it is for Christians. However, what I want to discuss throughout the rest of our time together is the understanding of Jesus Christ as a brother. This is a side of Jesus that many people are probably less familiar with; however, this does not mean that this side of Jesus is any less important. So, what does it mean to us as Christians when we start thinking of Christ as a brother? Well, there is no better place to look than Scripture.
To start we are going to look at Hebrews 2:11 (ESV): “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.” In this passage, the word that is used for brothers is a word that refers to blood relatives, but it can also refer to Christians. Typically, when the generic word for brother is used in Scripture, it also refers to sisters. In this passage, the writer is trying to convey how Jesus, the perfect God-man, the Son of God, could call us imperfect humans his brothers and sisters. It is easier to think about physical relationships and the passing of DNA through birth and how that creates a relation of brother or sister. They are family because of the similar DNA that they have in common. In the context of Christ, we become family by being born again into the family of God and Jesus Christ through faith in His death, burial, and resurrection. Through this act God becomes our Father, and therefore Christ becomes our brother. Romans 8:15 (ESV) says, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” We can see here that when we become part of God’s family through our faith in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we become part of His family. We receive the Spirit of adoption. The way that this is capitalized signifies that the Spirit we are receiving is the Holy Spirit, and upon receiving Him we are adopted into God’s family. This is not solely a spiritual family but one that is tied back to God by the DNA of the Holy Spirit. This is why it is important that when we recognize God as the Father that we would then also recognize Christ as our brother.
This relationship that we are seeing from Scripture is one that we not only need to have a deep understanding of but also a deep appreciation for. This is not a relationship that we should take lightly or for granted. We have the honor to call Christ our brother and not just in a metaphorical sense. We can call Jesus our brother because through His sacrifice and through our faith we are adopted into His family. This is an amazing concept to consider: We are not just brothers and sisters in Christ, but we are brothers and sisters with Christ. This means that we get to have a deep and intimate relationship not only with Jesus but with the Father as well. We get everything that comes with being a family. Often with our earthly family there comes conflict and contentions, but with God as our Father and Jesus as our brother, we get to embrace and enjoy a family that has nothing but love, grace, and mercy. A family is designed to be a support structure; they are there to teach us the way to go as we are young. Then, as we grow and become more independent, our families are there to support us and continue to guide us. Our earthly families often do this to the best of their abilities – they may also fail altogether. This is why it is so amazing to be in God’s family; neither the Father, the Son, nor the Holy Spirit will ever fail to guide you, support you, or be there for you. Being in God’s family fills in every sinful and worldly gap of our families that we have here. This is not to belittle or discredit our earthly families, but to highlight and glorify the perfect and amazing family that God has provided us an opportunity to join. We were given the gift to have Jesus as our brother and therefore get to have God as our Father, this is something that needs to be glorified and remembered. Being a part of God’s family and receiving this never-ending love, grace, and mercy is the foundation and expectation when we join God’s family. The reason that we can call Him brother is because of the sacrifice that He made for us. I hope that through this you have a deeper understanding of Christ as a brother and an appreciation for what that means.